All About Lapis Legit – Recipe & Tips on the Indonesian Layered Cake

If you love traveling and eating, I am sure this question has crossed your mind. Why does the same food in one place taste different in another? And I’m not talking about variation of one food, but the exact same food. Having lived in Vancouver for several years, which is arguably one of the most multi-cultural city in the world, I often hear my friends complain, “Nah, the Korean food here is nothing compared to the Korean food in Korea” or something along those lines.

Now of course, there could be many reasons for that, to name a few: The cooks’ expertise, taste assimilation, alterations made intentionally to cater to the locals, accessibility to certain ingredients etc.

I always attributed the main reason to be the competency of a chef… until my one-month stay in Jakarta with Grandma just this past month (I’m half Indonesian.. and half Singaporean). Since I began baking, the supermarkets and grocery stores have become my “Happy Place”. Visiting the Indonesian grocery stores made me realize one thing. Everything is so drastically different! The flour is different, the butter is different, and even the EGGS are different! But come to think of it, I would probably find it more bizarre if they were the same. After all, if people from one place differ so much from another, I’m sure chicken and eggs would too! Perhaps this factor contributes to why some things will never taste the same in other places.

When it comes to making Lapis Legit, here are some of the essential ingredients / equipments you should know about!

Flour

If unspecified, use all-purpose flour. (Tepung Terigu Protein Sedang) Some recipes call for cake flour. I’ve tried using cake flour too and it seems to work just as fine.

Butter

This is probably one of the most important defining component of a lapis. Good quality butter will produce good quality lapis. Some bakeries in Indonesia even price their lapis according to the brand of butter employed. IF you have access to it, do try the famous Wijsman Dutch Butter. It comes in a can and can be found in most grocery stores in Indonesia (probably Singapore and Malaysia too. You guys would know better :P). A can of Wijsman can cost about USD$11. It is so expensive that the Indonesian supermarkets even attach security alarms to it!

Security Alarm attached to butter, because stealing the butter is OBVIOUSLY every bakers’ dream…

I have used other brands of butter such as canned Orchid butter and my lapis turns out fine too, but the Lapis connoisseurs would argue that Wijsman precedes all other butters! I personally like to mix the butter up a little so the lapis doesn’t taste TOOO rich.

As for butter temperature, if unspecified, I would use cold butter, cut into cubes.

Eggs

I’ve heard that the best eggs are Telur Ayam Kampung ones. (Free range eggs!) Rasanya lebih enak! They are of course, more expensive as well. I have yet to experiment with free-range eggs since my lapis seem to turn out fine with the regular ones.

When considering the number eggs, look at the ratio of eggs : butter : flour instead of just focusing on how many eggs one lapis has. 30 eggs, 500g butter, 100g flour is less fattening per serving than 20 eggs, 400g butter, 60g flour. Why? The former uses more eggs simply only because it produces a taller lapis!

Keep in mind, the reason for the number of yolks is to moisten the cake. Egg whites on the other hand may dry the cake slightly. Many Indonesian lapis legit will completely omit the egg whites.

Eggs are easier to separate when cold and will beat to a bigger volume when in room temperature. When beating egg yolks / whites, make sure the beater is always clean! The smallest trace of butter will prevent the eggs from beating to its full volume.

Baking powder / Emulsifier

If you live in North America, you can forget about using emulsifier. I haven’t seen a single one after searching for over a year. You may want to use a little bit of baking powder instead when the recipe calls for it or you may completely omit it. I usually omit either of them when making my lapis.

Spekkeok Bumbu
If you don’t have this, here is a substitution I like to use. For 1 tbsp, substitute with the following:

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cardamom

Baking pan “Loyang”

The best pans to use are the aluminium tin pans. Most lapis are baked in rectangular or square shaped pans. They are easily found in Asia and very affordable (US$1.50 in Jakarta!!) However, when I was living in North America, they were like needles in a haystack. You COULD use non-stick pans but they can sometimes burn the sides of your lapis. The sides of your lapis will usually be quite dry regardless, but non-stick pans exaggerate that dryness, hence sacrificing half an inch more of lapis goodness on each side.

I don’t claim to be an expert in making Lapis Legit. So these are only my humble observations and opinions on my past experience of making the cake.

Tips and Tricks on making Lapis Legit.

Greasing the pan: Use a parchment paper for the bottom of the pan and grease with butter. The entire baking process should take minimum 2 hours (usually longer). Therefore, only grease up to an inch up the sides of your pan until you get to the later layers.

Always keep an extra bar of butter for greasing the pan and in between the layers of the lapis. Don’t over-grease or you will end up with a very oily and gross lapis.

Every oven differs slightly in temperature. When making Kue Lapis Legit, the difference of a minute can result in a burnt layer. Here are some tips on making lapis

Use ONLY upper heat. This should be the “grill” / “broil” mode on your oven. Convectional ovens are definitely discouraged.

Set the temperature of your oven according to the recipe you follow. Preferably, each layer should only be in the oven for about 5-7 minutes and it should brown by then. You may need to adjust the position of your rack or your temperature for this. If your heat is too low, your lapis will take too long to brown, hence producing a dryer cake as the entire cake has been in the oven for too long. If your heat is too high, your layer will burn and you will notice a lot of “holes” in your lapis.

Keep in mind that as you layer your lapis, the topmost layer will slowly inch towards the upper heat element. You may need to adjust the time / temperature / rack position slightly when you notice that your lapis begins to cook faster.

Strive to make each layer even by measuring it. I like using approximately 60g-80g per layer / 4-5 tbsp. The first layer can be a little thicker (100g). This is for a 20×20 pan.

19 Layers for this!

If your layers are too thick, they will not be cooked sufficiently. At the end of making your lapis, if you notice that the inside of your lapis is uncooked, cover the top with aluminum foil and bake the entire cake using both top and bottom heat for 10 minutes at approximately 160C / 325F. Of course, it will be best if you can avoid this.

After your lapis is done, remove from the pan and let cool. You can slice one side of the lapis to see if your layers are sufficiently cooked.

Storing your lapis: Lapis usually taste better as it ages. I like mine best after 3 – 4 days, since the flavours continue to develop even after it has been baked. If you used rum in your lapis, it will preserve for even longer. Refrigerating will also extend its shelf life. I however dislike eating cold lapis, and if refrigeration was necessary, my lapis will have to go through the “microwave chamber” for 5-10 seconds before I have it. If you own a George Foreman, try actually grilling your lapis for half a minute. It tastes pretty darn awesome grilled and crispy.

Here is my very own Lapis recipe after experimenting on a couple of different ones ranging from 15 to 50 eggs. Here is my happy medium.

Remove the eggs from fridge and separate the yolks and whites first so that they will be at room temperature when used later.

Beat the butter and condensed milk together until it turns pale. This should take about 10 minutes. Here is when the Kitchen Aid comes in very helpful!

Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F. Grease your pan and make sure it’s pre-heated in the oven as well.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until very fluffy and tripled in volume. MAKE SURE BEATERS ARE CLEAN!

Slowly pour the egg mixture into the butter mixture and beat at low speed until the mixture comes together. Careful not to overmix! This is exactly the consistency you want! Your batter should not separate / curdle.

Finally sift in flour, milk powder and spekkeok powder. Fold gently.

Remove your pan from the oven, switch to TOP HEAT ONLY. Pour 100g of batter for your first layer and 60g of batter for the following layers. Brush each cooked layer with butter before adding the next layer. The hot lapis / pan will melt your batter as you pour it in, resulting in smooth layers.

If you see any air bubbles, poke them with a toothpick and flatten the layer with a spatula or fondant presser.

This looks very lovely, can’t say I’ve ever had it but you’ve got me salivating. I keep forgetting you’re not in the states and had to re check that it said it was tomorrow there and it’s yesterday here, LOL Happy New Year!!

Hi Sammi, this is definitely a work of art! I’m in awe with your painstaking attention to detail and tips/hints on this cake. When I was in HK recently I saw the round version (which you mentioned) from a previous post and the not only looked great, but smelt good in the shops. A very aspiring challenge which I’m sure will get msny great results with your knowledge.

Thank you Alice! ooh wow! I didn’t know it was popular in HK too! :) ahh and yes, I really love the smell of Lapis Legit! It’s smells so good that everyone in my family keeps asking when the cake was gonna be ready even during my initial layers! hahaha..

omgg!! My “photography studios” keep changing every time I relocate somewhere! It’s all about improvising and natural lighting for my very noob skills. :P

Hi Eva. If you like you can try this recipe. It’s my first attempt in making Kue Lapis Legit. It only uses 15 eggs and if you half the pan, you’ll only have to use 7 or 8 eggs. Of course, it’s not going to taste as rich as the 30 yolks, but beware! Your kitchen is going to smell so good!

I know for sure that the feed makes a huge difference to the taste of animal proteins varying from region to region. Just as soil makes a difference to the taste of fresh produce. Great informative post Sammy :)

Sammie – this looks fantastic!!!! I grew up eating this Lapis Legit; and loved it. My grandma and grandaunts were all bakers – too bad that I never learned how to bake from them. I don’t dare to try to recreate it at home though, so I get to indulge myself in it when I go back to Jakarta. Have a great 2013 my friend!!

Thanks for posting this recipe. Your kue lapis looks amazing. I tried it today however the cake turns out a bit dry and the color is more brownish rather than a nice golden yellowish like yours. Could you please give me some suggestion??

Hi there! Could be your butter. Butter is really the defining factor of a nice moist lapis! Try to use Wjysman. If unavailable however, use any tinned / canned butter. Also some ovens are stronger than others. You may have to shorten your bake time to 2-3 minutes if that’s the case. Perhaps this would prevent the cake from turning too brown. Hope this helps!

Great recipe, very detailed and helpful! I cant wait to make this. I am Dutch but now live in the USA and miss this (spekkoek)! I am on an Indonesian kick lately, and after making gado gado for dinner tonight I was inspired to look up a recipe for lapis legit.

I have always wondered what makes the difference in color for the layers.. do you know why they have different colors?

Hi Nathasja. Oh I’m glad you’re loving Indonesian goodies :) one of my favourite cuisines as well. :) the difference in colour is due to the top of every layer being grilled! When grilled accurately and sufficiently, the cake should have an even tone of brown on every layer. Not sure if that’s what you mean by different colours! I also have other lapis cakes with colours like dark brown or green. Those ones have food colouring added on :)

I love kuih lapis but it’s so much work. I just made one for my husband today using 12 eggs and a can of Golden Churn butter. I can’t get the brand you mentioned here in Malaysia. When I am in Melbourne I use the Red Fern butter. I have no complains about the recipe I have except for the fact that usually towards the end of grilling, my batter turns watery so I usually have to throw the last 1 or 2 ladles of batter away. What a waste. How can I avoid this?

I never made this, but my mother used to make it. I do not have her recipe, but I remember that she divided the batter into 2 parts. One part remained the original and the other part she added the spices. She used each batter alternately. Before she put the next layer of batter, she pressed the cooked layer with the bottom of a drinking glass, so the layer is compressed.

I’ve been eyeing this recipe for quite sometime and eventually I’ll give it a try. Being born and raised in Indonesia, this cake has always have a special place in my pantry. Although my eating style has changed recently by omitting processed sugar, I strive to re-make this into gluten free and processed sugar free as much as possible. I will let you know how it turns out.

Hi. There could be a number of reasons for that. But I would say it’s usually the butter or oven temperature that affects the moisture of your lapis most. Make sure you use the best butter. Low quality butter with insufficient fat content will cause the lapis to be dry.

Hello Sammie – we have tried this cake a few times over the recent years with varying success. Your recipe and descriptions look very helpful – now if only we can produce a similar result! I was wondering if the dutch butter you mention is available in Vancouver? We also live in Vancouver (at UBC in fact) and I would like to try it if we can find it here.
Thanks

Hello Sammie – Your lapis legit looks tremendous. We have tried this cake with varying success over the recent years. I really like your recipe and descriptions – now if only we can produce a similar result. I wonder if the dutch butter you mention is available in Vancouver? We also live in Vancouver (at UBC in fact) and I’d like to try it if we can find that butter here.
Thanks

Been looking for this for a while. Thank you so much for your effort Sammie. So are you saying no egg white needed in this particular kue lapis legit recipe? Sorry if that sounds noob, first time trying to make a cake haha

Hi Sammie
My cake came out dry and compact but when you touch it, it is oily and smells of butter. Any feedback as to the outcome? I am from New Zealand and we cannot find any kueh lapis here unless someone brings it for us from Singapore.
Regards
Jeanne

Hi Jeanne, it sounds like your butter had curdled during the process. You can try to avoid this by bringing your eggs to room temperature and also add a couple tablespoons of flour whenever you notice it curdle. Hope this helps!

Hi Sammy! I’m so glad to find your website! Well done! Thank you so much I’m making this tonight , but got trouble with the oven because we don’t have the oven like in Indonesia glad to know I can use “grill” :)